The Heart of the Apocalypse
by The Walking Apocalypse
Summary: A battle at the prison leaves the Grimes in a zombie infested world. They will eventually find the others that they've come to know, only to have Carl leave them to be with someone they can never accept. But the heaven that Carl thinks he'll live in, becomes the beginning of a terrible nightmare.
1. Chapter 1: Cold and Separated

**The Heart of the Apocalypse**

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**_Chapter 1: Cold and Separated _**

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**Carl's POV:**

It was horrifying to think that we were going to be attacked again by the Governor, but it was so much worse to be separated from everything and everyone I've known since we first got to Hershel's house so long ago. Now we're wandering, just the two of us, and all can think is _"Don't look back, Carl. Don't look back."_.

I feel sick. So defeated. Not by the Governor, but by the screaming in my head. _"Liar..." "DADDY!" "Fire!" "No, no! Daddy!". _It starts to pound into my head. The screaming and the gun fire. Explosions. Crashing. The splattering of blood and ground. The groaning of the walkers. _"He chopped a guy's head off with a sword..." "Where's Judith?". _

The whole thing being relived over and over again more violently. Not only the scarring battle but every wrong thing that a ever happened or that I ever did since the apocalypse first began. _"I did what I had to do." "Don't name them."_.

Voices ring through my head. Screaming of people I could have saved but didn't. The people so close to me saying that they love me. Friends I had from school...Jack... He lived across the street from me. We used play around together all the time in his back yard. Then the day came...I was going to see if he wanted to come over to spend the night. I saw them. I saw the walkers down the street but I thought they just regular people so I kept going. When I opened the gate on the fence, I couldn't do anything. He was laying there, torn limb from limd, blood all over the swing set we used to sit together on. Then his mother... His own mother ripping pieces of flesh out of one of the ripped off arms. His dad walked out of the porch door, his feet dragging. He got half way to Jack's torn body when he noticed me. Those eyes... They were glazed and had a silver tint to them. I was never so scared before. I just turned around and ran. I didn't know what was happening. And even worse, I was grabbed suddenly when I was only feet away from my door step. I tried to fight, but I heard a familiar voice. Shane. An officer who worked with my dad. As he told me to calm down I began to cry. He just repeated my name over and over again. _"Carl! Calm down, Carl. It's ok now. Your mother is in the car already. Carl? Carl...Carl...Carl...Carl..." _

"...Carl? Carl, are you ok? CARL!"

"Huh? What?" I responded to the voice.

"Are you ok, Carl? You just slowed down and stopped all together. Is everything alright?" My dad asked.

"Yeah...just...I..." I trailed off, looking up at my dad who I was helping walk. He gotten into a fight with the Governor. We had a traumatic war with his people at the prison just a few minutes ago.

"It's ok, Carl." He said through his puffy lip that was caused by a punch. The swelling had gone down a little.

"I know it's ok. There's nothing wrong. Nothing's wro-" I couldn't finish because I started to cry inhis the side of his chest. His other arm wrapped around me. My open arm did the same thing.

"It's over now, Carl. We'll be ok. Now I know your not a crier. You haven't been for a long time." He whispered.

"I used to be..." I whispered back, stopping my crying. "I couldn't stub my toe without balling." He rubbed my back.

"I told you, I didn't mean to kick your foot. I didn't see you coming." He smiled. I chuckled at the inside joke from when I was little. Tears still streamed down my face.

"I think you planned it." I joked back. He smiled. "Do you think you can walk yet or do you still need help?"

"Ah...I think I can walk, but I'll have a little bit of a limp for a few more hours." I released my arm (that was supporting him) slowly as he took a few steps forward. He was obviously taking it easy on his left leg, but walked at his normal speed.

By now the sun was beating down on us. Both of us were sweating terribly. "Can we take a break for a minute, dad?"

"Yeah, in a minute. There's a group of trees up ahead."

"Dad, we're surrounded by trees. We're in the middle of a forest." I said, stating the obvious. He looked at me like I was an idiot.

"And do you see shade underneath any of them?" I looked around. Most of the tree didn't have any leaves to provide shade for ground.

"Whatever..." I mumbled, slightly annoyed. I never actually saw it, but I could tell he was smiling. A moment later I leaned my back against the large oak tree. I tried to relax, sliding down the trunk until I was sitting, but the thoughts of the prison kept forcing their way into my head. "Dad..."

"Yeah?" He asked. I didn't immediately reply. "What is it?"

"Do...do you think...you think they're ok? The others." I asked, hesitant about the question. He opened his mouth, but a sound never came out. I looked down at my knees. He said nothing, yet the his answer hit me in the face as hard as Beth Greene's hand when I asked if she wanted to go out. Now that I think about it, there was no where we could go out to. I leaned my head against the tree trunk. Suddenly a walker appeared around a tree about a dozen yards away. I pulled the hand rifle out of my belt and took aim.

"Carl, if you shoot that thing they'll all hear it and in a few minutes we'll be surrounded by walkers." I sighed and and put my gun away. I pulled a knife out of my shoe and walked up to the walker. I stuck my hand out to encourage the thing forward. As it reached out for my hand, I pulled it back and swung my other hand up, letting the blade come crashing through the top of the skull. My open hand held down the top of his head while I pulled out the blade. He fell the ground, knees first then finally tipping over onto his face.

"A kitchen knife?" My dad laughed softly, shaking his head slightly.

"Don't laugh! You took my dagger away."

"Because you were using it to carve a naked girl."

"You can't prove that she was naked." I said, point at him with the bloody knife.

"Well her shirt certainly was pointy then." He grinned.

"I...it was...shut up!" He laughed, shaking his head back and forth. I could feel my self blush. I hate being embarrassed. It makes me feel insecure.

For the next few hours we sat underneath the large tree. It had brilliantly green leaves that covered the thick branches almost entirely. The shade felt so good in that heat, but the sun was beginning to go down so it was already cooler than before. We began to leave to find better shelter before it got dark. There was a narrow path that we were traveling along. It reminded me so much of my childhood when we used to go out the local nature reserves to walk on the trails. We used to have so much fun watching all of the animals from the woods. Deer, rabbits, butterflies, birds, flowers, fish in the rivers, so much beauty to see. But that just isn't the same anymore.

"Carl? You stopped again. Are you sure everything is ok?" My asked, a few feet in front of me. I looked up from my feet.

"Yeah." My voice was barely audible. I started the walk forward. Tears began to push their way up, but I did my best to fight them.

"There's a shack up ahead. We can probably stay there for the night." He pointed out, pointing at a small brick building on the right side of the path, almost hidden by the trees. We crossed through the dead bushes and brush. The structure was only about four feet by four feet and about eight feet tall and had about a two and a half feet wide door, seven feet tall. The door was wooden while the walls were red brick. A shingled pyramid rested on top for the roof. "Get your knife out." He mouthed, pulling out my dagger from his belt. He silently kaput his hand on the handle, his other hand ready the stab anything that came out. I had my knife ready just like he did. There a horrible silence before he opened the door. The door was pulled open quickly and silently. Nothing came out. I peeked around the corner to see if anything was in there. Empty except for a rake in the back right corner and a shovel and bush trimmers in the other corner. I walked inside of the tiny structure, followed by my dad. He pulled the door closed.

"Great choice, dad." I said sarcastically. There was almost no light other than through a window in the back.

"What do you want me to do, call my realtar?" I rolled my eyes. It was an uncomfortable space. Cold, with a little bit of a draft. Cobwebs covered the ceiling. "Just hang in there, Carl. It's only for tonight."

"Dad, you know I can't stand small spaces."

"Just try to go to sleep. It won't feel that long if you fall asleep." The sun was almost completely down. I sat down in the corner, and, of course, the broom tipped over and nailed me on the head. "Shiii..." I saw my dad's face.

"I told you, don't use language like that until you're eighteen or I'm gonna take your gun away too."

"I'm sorry. Don't take my gun away." I begged. "Please?"

"Fine." He agreed, sitting down in the opposite corner. I began to finally get tired. Sleep is a great thing, even if it's a place like this. Tomorrow will bring an experience that we weren't entirely prepared for.

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**So here's the first chapter of my story. I apologize if it's too short/too long. It's my first try so please review so I know how people think of it. Next chapter is on its way. Thanks to everyone**


	2. Chapter 2: Reunification

**The Heart of the Apocalypse**

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**_Chapter 2: Reunification _**

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**Carl's POV:**

I woke up, incredibly tired. My neck was in serious pain. It was stiff from leaning against the wall all night. I groaned, feeling tired and sleepy still. The light from the open door warmed my face wonderfully. The sunlight. The sunlight of a new day and a new beginning...The door is open. I never opened anything. My dad must have. But where is he? He isn't inside of this death trap. I stood up and stretched. I picked up my hat from the ground, which had slipped off of my head during the night. As I adjusted it on my head, I took a step out the door, cautious of anything that might me be outside. My dad was kneeling down on one leg feeling a patch of open dirt a few yards to the right of the shack. "Dad?" I said as I approached him. He turned to me.

"Morning, Carl. Come look at this." He said, motioning me over. "There's tire marks here." Four trails of tire prints were on the patch of open ground. They started parallel to the trail then moved onto the trail a few feet away.

"So?" I asked, rubbing one my eyes.

"These shouldn't be here with all the wind and rain we've had lately. They're too defined to be old. They were just made. Maybe a day or two ago."

"So there's someone out here?"

"There was. Not anymore." He stood up.

"They must have been going somewhere. Like shelter! If we follow the-"

"We need to think this out before we do anything. We don't know who had the car. It could be someone else who's like the Governor so-"

"Or it could be someone who needs help-or maybe one of our own. What if it's Maggie or Glenn or someone we know. We can't keep losing people." He starred at me.

"We've already lost people. It happens. We can only ignore it. They're not family. It's not like we're killing actual family."

There was terrible silence. I began to boil inside. I couldn't help it. I crossed the line.

"...I shot my mom in the head. I put a bullet through your wife's skull. I watched her get sliced open to get to Judith and now Judith is gone. SO DON'T GIVE ME THAT FAMILY BULLSHIT!" I yelled. It echoed through the trees. Then I saw it. The pain in his eyes.

"Carl..." He didn't move as I walked around. Well, rather stormed around him. I felt so angry yet sad. I entered the shack and leaned against the corner wall. As I slid down, I took my dad's hat off. It used to mean so much, but now it held so many memories, not all good ones. I just looked at it. Suddenly a burning hatred ran through me. I tried to rip the thing, but I couldn't. Something held me back. I couldn't destroy the thing that gave me so much pride and so much to be proud of. It was one of the only things I had left from my old life. The life I loved...and hated. But that I couldn't imagine any other way. It was my life. And the walkers had to take it all away... But if they never appeared, right now I could still be bullied by the ones who put themselves higher than me. I remember always looking forward to seeing my mom waiting for me. Not because I wanted to go home, but because they would never attack me in front of her. They were so dreadful. I was attacked by them all the time, and not only physically. The called me things like "Faggot" and "loser" and "gay". I never knew how to react. They were just relentless! They would say things like _"I hope your dad gets shot and killed at his job." _and _"Your mom's a slut. She doesn't deserve to be alive."_. I was only ten years old. Sometimes it was too much that I came home holding in tears. Then on the rare occasion that I had to walk home, they would follow me. As soon as we were off school grounds the mental abuse stopped and the physical abuse started. Some of them would hold me down as the others destroyed me with punches and kicks and, sometimes, stones, bricks, and large fallen tree branches.

I did my best not to think about that. But it is amazing how many thoughts can run through your head in only a minute.

My dad took a step into the shack. I tried not to look at him at first. "Carl..?" He crouched down in front of me. "Look...uh...I probably shouldn't have said what I did. But you have to put yourself in my place. I was the leader of our group, and when there was any death, it was on me. As a leader it's hard to lose what you're responsible for. I guess I said what I did because I...I just don't want that on me head. We've lost so many, and it was always on me. I don't want to have to be the one that everyone depends on when I really can't always be dependable. I'm so sorry that I made that come out of you..." I looked up at him.

"Dad...I really crossed over when I said what _I _said. That...that was just too far. I know it was hard for you too and it was just way too far. I didn't really mean it." I looked down at my knees. My hand reached to my belt and pulled my gun out. It held it out to him. "I said a really bad word like you told me not to, so...here." He looked at it, then back up at me, then back at the gun. I felt like a terrible son at this point. He reached out for the weapon that gave me more pride. I looked down, then back up as I felt it being pushed back to me.

"Under the circumstances, I think you can keep it... This time at least." He smiled. I felt a little better now.

"Thanks, dad." He stood up.

"I think we should go with your suggestion and follow those tracks." I stood up and put my-our hat back on, my rifle back in its spot in my belt. My dad had already left and was on the trail. I came out a moment later. We began on our way down the trail. It was a long walk, and the burning sunlight and 85 degree heat was so extreme that we took multiple rests throughout the walk.

The day grew longer and longer, and by the time the sun reached its highest point in the sky above us, we had already walked four miles. And trust me, my shoare were not made for walking long distances on ground like this. My feet were incredibly sore, but I wasn't a quitter. Not yet.

Soon the path began to disappear, but the tire marks were still visible going through the trees.

"Dad, do we have to walk up that?" I asked, complaining a little bit about the uphill slope that the tracks went up and over.

"Carl, it's not that far. It's just a hill." He pointed out.

"I'm just tired, that's all." I complained. He rolled his eyes and started up the hill. "You coming?" I sighed and began to follow him.

"My feet are killing me."

"We'll rest in a little bit." He assured.

"They just really hurt." I continued.

"Well just ignore it." I said.

"Are we there yet?" I jokingly whined. He began to laugh. "I have to go to the bathroom."

"I told you to go before we left." He joked back. We both smiled at the joke. "See? It wasn't that far." I rolled my eyes as we crossed over the hill to the flat ground. Then I realized. This is so familiar. I've been here before.

"Dad...dad, this is...isn't this the road from right before we met Hershel and Maggie and them..." I said, scanning over all the cars that we had known so long ago. The RV that we had sat there, right where it had been for a few years. Most of the cars were beginning to form rust around the fenders and in between any parts.

"Yeah...yeah it is." He looked over the cars. "There! That's the car that made those tracks!" He pointed to the truck that had the front completely smashed in. It had crashed into another car. But not right in front of us. It was a few yards the right, directly behind the old RV. "It looks like it started traveling towards the other cars and made a sharp turn toward the other lane."

"Well then where's the driver?" I asked, seeing the driver's open. "There isn't any-wait...is that a body?" A pair of limp legs, with the toes facing down were visible around the corner of the truck.

"Carl, it might be a walker." I pulled out gun.

"I've got it covered." I assured him. Before he could respond I had already began walking to the body. It was definitely a body, probably adult male. He was dead, and looked like he was killed. An arrow was sticking out of the back of the head. "Dad, it's ok. Whoever they are they-" I suddenly felt a jerk backwards. I couldn't regain my balance because I was pinned on the truck. Not my entire body but only the shoulder of my sleeve of my right arm. An arrow pinned it to the truck door.

"Carl? What's wrong?" My dad came around the corner. "Oh my god! What happened?" He asked, running over to me.

"I-I don't know. I was just standing he-"

"Damn, kid. I almost killed you." Daryl said, jumping over another car's hood. "Are you ok?"

"Daryl? You're ok! You made it out too." My dad said, going over to him.

"Oh, don't worry about me. I'll just wait here for a walker." I mumbled, feeling around my sleeve to see if I could get free.

"Here, let's see the damage. Are you hurt?" Daryl asked, looking over the arrow.

"I think I'm ok. It might've scratched me." He pulled arrow slowly out of the door. I moved with it. It popped out as it got near the end. I pulled my sleeve towards the car, Daryl pulling the opposite direction. The arrow slid out with ease.

"Let's see if it caught skin." My dad said, rolling up my sleeve past the area of the arrow. "Well it doesn't look like the skin was broken. But there's a red mark where it rubbed against him." I rolled down my sleeve. "What do you have against my son?" My dad joked to Daryl.

"His hair." He joked back.

"Just ignore the fact that I almost got killed. I'm totally fine with that." I said sarcastically, picking up my gun.

"I'm sorry, man. I didn't know it was you. I thought you were a walker, the way you were walking."

"My foot are killing me. I'm trying not to put pressure on them." I explained.

"Where are the others?" My dad asked.

"Don't know. We all got separated." He pulled the other arrow out of the body. Pointing at the truck with the bloody arrow, he said "This was a get away car. I got outta there before them and found my way here. They pulled outta the forest with that thing and swerved when they saw me."

"There some that were still alive?" My dad asked, looking back at the woods.

"Yeah, there was another guy but he got across to the woods before I could get him too."

"Where did you stay overnight?"

"The RV. We never locked the door." He laughed.

"Do you mind if we stay with you?"

"He better. He owes us after trying to kill me." I smiled.

"It's fine by me." He said. "We'll find somewhere else to stay later. But first we have to figure out where we _can _go."

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**Well there's the second ****chapter. I hope you liked it. I'm gonna try to update like at least once every two weeks. But with school I don't know for sure. Anyways, thank you guys so much. If you liked it, please subscribe and review. Thanks guys!**


	3. Chapter 3: I'm Only Looking For Supplies

**The Heart of the Apocalypse**

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**_Chapter 3: I'm Only Looking For Supplies_**

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**Carl's POV:**

I woke up early this time. The sun was barely beginning to rise over the horizon. As I looked out the window next to the table and seats, where I had slept, I saw beauty for what seemed like years. The sunrise warmed my face so incredibly good, that for a moment I had forgotten that I was in the midst of the apocalypse. But I was. And sooner or later, we run.

"Hit it again." Daryl said from in front of RV. My dad, sitting in the driver's seat, turned the ignition with the spare key. The vehicle sputtered for a few seconds, then silenced again.

"Still nothing." My dad called through an open window. "Maybe it just needs the oil replaced or something."

"Nah! The oil pressure was up."

"Dad? What are you doing?" I asked.

"Tryin' to fix the engine. We can't stay here but we need transportation first." He turned the ignition again. Sputtering. Silence.

"Why don't we use another car?" I asked, not even caring that it probably was already an option.

"We're probably gonna start looking for one if we can't get the damn engine to start." He said, annoyed be the non-functional car. "Dammit..."

"Dad. There's gotta be some other car out there that still has a good engine."

"I'm sure there are. But mostly all of them have locked doors and we can't break the windows." I tried the engine again, and failed again.

"Any open windows? There must be a few out there. And I thought you said we might start looking for another car." I walked over to the door, but didn't go out.

"Yeah, I guess I did. Maybe we'll start pretty soon." He said, not even looking at me. I began my way outside when I realized I had forgotten to put my shoes on. A few moments later when I did have them, I walked into the mess of stopped cars. Most of _did _have closed windows and the others had only a small crack open for air. The bodies in the seats no longer needed air. Most of them were rotted and decayed, but others were almost in better condition than most of the walkers right now.

What I was looking for was a car in good condition, enough room for all three of us, and if anything else, supplies that we might need. Clothes, baggage and storage, maybe medical supplies. I dawned on me that I'm usually the only one to look for supplies. I pulled any door handle that was immediately available, and any hatch-back or trunk that might be unlocked. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. All of the cars were secured.

Then there was a car up ahead. Sitting almost separated from all the others. A station wagon. Not an the old classic kind. A newer one from maybe the late 90's. The window on the driver's door was open too. It looked very durable. All it needed was a new paint job maybe. I approached the thing. There weren't any bodies inside of it but things were spread all around inside of it. Papers, some clothes, and other little things. "Jackpot." I whispered to myself. I turned to away to return back to the RV, right into a walker. I was grabbed by the shoulders. I began to push it back, well, rather hold it back holding its neck right under the chin so it couldn't bite.

"DAD!" I screamed, trying to get the walker off. I held it with one hand while the other reached for my gun, which was still in the RV. As the walker got closer to my face, I put my hand back under the chin. "DAD! PLEASE!" I screamed again. I pushed it back from me, but not by far. It had just as much strength as me.

**Daryl's POV**

"Did you hear that?" I called through the window.

"Hear what?" He called back.

"Huh. Never mind." I called back. He tried to start the engine again.

**Carl's POV**

I tried to hold it back, but it did have a lot of strength. I was beginning to have a hard time breathing because of all the stress. Then I had the instant idea. It could work if I was fast. I turned slightly until its back was to the car door. Then I used the only bit of strength I had left. I shoved it through the open window head first and released it. With one of my open hands I pulled the inside handle of door so the door opened. The walker began to stuck its head over the door. That's when I slammed it shut. Crushing the skull and killing the walker. I turned, letting out a sigh of relief. I put my hands on my knees and just breathed heavily. But when I looked back up, there were more coming from the direction of the RV. A lot more. I could hardly handle one. Now there were dozens after me.

I couldn't say anything, and I hardly had my strength back, so I just turned around and ran. I ran around all the cars in my way. For the first time in a long while, I actually felt desperate. It's not something I'm used to. There was nothing I could. They just kept appearing. They were all coming from the prison, because of the engine sputtering, and started after me when they heard me screaming. How could I have been so stupid?

I started into the woods and ran. I was going to go around them through the woods, but they started coming from that way in the woods too. "Shit!" I turned around and started the other way, but there were more coming from that way too. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no..." I had no choice but to go back up to the road. As I ran back up to the road, they were just closer than before. I couldn't do anything. I was seriously in deep shit now. There was no choice now but to run the other way. Away from my dad. Away from my gun. Away from our shelter. Away from what I had left. I began to run in between all the cars. Inside of them, the bodies began to move and get restless.

I was suddenly on my back, an arm sticking out of an open window pulling my arm. I was able to rip my arm out of its grasp, but I had to crawl a few feet away to avoid being grabbed again. Although I was in harmed, I was shaken up badly.

I kept running once I got back onto my feet. I was so, so screwed. What was only a few dozen now turned into hundreds of walkers. I was close to a mile away when I started running, by now I must have been more than two miles away from my dad. I was alone. As I ran around another truck, I gasped. They hundreds of them in their group began to turn their heads to me and started walking. Just when I had thought I was far enough away, I was only in the midst of them.

There was no choice but to go back into the infested woods. That's exactly what I did. There weren't any in the woods here, but they were coming after me. I was the only food source for miles. I was put of breath. I couldn't run as fast anymore. I was slower, and easier to catch now. There was an endless crunch of leaves behind me. They were all coming. I was so out of breath that by now, I could hardly run anymore.

Then suddenly had nowhere to go. A wire fence was in my way. I was at the prison again. No. No I wasn't. This wasn't the prison. The fence was the same but there were about three of them in a row. On the other side of them was was what looked like semi truck trailers stretching the length of the fences. They were like barriers.

The walkers were only a few yards away now. There was no choice. I had to climb the fence, the ten feet tall fence with barbed wire spun around the top. I had never climbed up any so fast in my life. The barbed wire at the top I tried to spread out so I wouldn't get caught in it. But I was in such a hurry that I still got some scratches. I didn't even try to climb down. I let myself fall to the ground with a thud. Straight on my back too. I needed air desperately. Because the fall had knocked the wind out of me, I stayed there for a few minutes. The walkers packed themselves against the fence. The sound of their moans filled my ears.

Some five minutes passed, feeling like hours, when I finally got up. I was in a lot of stress and pain. I scooted myself up against the second fence for another five minutes or so. Finally I got the strength to climb over the other fence. This time I had more time to be careful about everything. I climbed down that one and started on the third one. I was tired still but I was able to find a way to climb over the semi truck trailer, which, just like all the other ones, was its side, so nothing crawl under.

From the top I saw something incredible. A city that wasn't in ruins. Actually, it was like a small town. Like one of those that's small enough that most people know each other's name. One of those that has its own market, a lot of nice houses, some taller buildings that were like work places, just one of those nice small towns. The sun was still just over the horizon. If anyone was still here, they were still sleeping.

"Oh...my...oh...ha ha...I'm ok...I'm still ok." I laughed quietly, the relief that I had made it feeling good. I slid down the side, which was really the bottom of the trailer. I put my hands on my knees again and bent over. "I'm not gonna die today..." I whispered to my feet. I sighed happily, and looked up, only to take a shovel to the side of the face. I was knocked out immediately, and when I would wake up I would have quite the unexpected surprise.

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**Here's chapter 3! So I'll try my hardest to update. And I'll do my hardest to make it easy to understand and get into. If it's bad I'm really really sorry! I'm doing me hardest. Please comment and review! I'll get the next chapter up as soon as possible! Thanks everyone! Bye.**


	4. Chapter 4: Meeting Her

**The Heart of the Apocalypse**

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**_Chapter 4: Meeting Her_**

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**Carl's POV:**

All I remember is running from them. They were everywhere. I was a dead man. There was no escaping my fate. I was literally going to get torn to pieces and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Death was seconds away... Then the fence. The three tall fences and barrier on the other side. I thought I would have to stay in between the fences because the town on the other side was probably infested. But it wasn't. Everything was too perfect and well maintained to have walkers roaming around. The grass was nicely cut. Bushes and shrubs around the buildings a short distance away were trimmed. Sidewalks and most of the ground was free of leaves like they usually are. It was a town of survivors. I was sure there would be people able to take me in until I could get back to the road, but when I got down the barrier of semi truck trailers, I took a shovel to the head. There was blackness after that as I was unconscious.

**Rick's POV **

"Are you sure the battery doesn't need to be charged?" I asked through the window of the RV.

"For the hundredth time, I checked already and it should be fine. The ignition is turning an' the engine is movin' but she won't let us do anything. There's gotta be something else wrong." Daryl said back, walking over to the open window by me. I rolled my eyes.

"And where's Carl? He hasn't been around."

"He prob'ly went to look for stuff again."

"He shouldn't be out anyway. There's a lot of danger with all those bodies out there. I don't care what his reason is-"

"You gotta stop bein' so hard on him. He _is_ doing it for us. At least he's trying." I sighed, realizing he was probably right. "I'm sure he's fine. If the needed us he probably would have called for help. He knows what to do." I turned around and saw his gun. I got up and picked it up off the table.

"He never leaves his gun." I pointed out, walking back to the window. "I'm sorry, but I just have a bad feeling that something happened. I really think we should go look for him."

"C'mon man. He knows what he's-"

"Please. He's the only thing I have left..." He thought about it for a few seconds.

"Fine."

**Carl's POV **

"Seriously, are going to take this thing off?" I complained. A dark fabric bag was over my head. I was sitting upright but I was tied down. It felt like a chair, but I couldn't tell because I couldn't see through the freaking potato sack or whatever was on my head. Any body part that could move was tied down. My neck, my wrists, my arms, my legs, my ankles, my stomach, my chest, everything. "Hello? I know somebody is there. I didn't tie myself down." No response.

Either they were just plain stubborn or I was left for dead. I didn't want to think about what might happen to me. "Seriously? Am I just going to do all the talking?" I was really getting annoyed.

I had just woken up a few minutes ago. At first I thought it was maybe a dream, but my head started to hurt like crazy.

Suddenly there were foot steps. There was a slight echo so I didn't know where exactly they were coming from. At first I thought that I should stay quiet. The steps were on a hard floor, hard shoes, so they were loud and obvious. They stopped for a few seconds, then started again. Then I could hear them getting closer. They stopped what sounded like right in front of me. My heart sank as I heard the familiar click of a gun. I didn't want to say anything that would get me killed, but if I was too silent then they could just shoot me, thinking I had turned into a walker. There was a slight motion around my forehead area. I began to hear my own heart pounding. The bag was pulled off of my head quickly.

"Please don't shoot..." I whispered, closing my eyes tightly, not wanting the last thing I would see to be the barrel of a gun.

"Just tell me why you're here and I might put that thought into consideration." That voice... At first I thought it was Beth Greene, so I opened my eyes. But it wasn't her. It was someone else. Another girl. She was about fifteen, her hair was kinda wavy and dyed a dark red and was pulled back into a pony tail. She was wearing tight, dark blue jeans and a powder blue tank top with a kind of black silk coat on. Everything looked fairly new, unlike the stuff we had at the prison.

"What do you mean?" I asked, wanting to know more about why there was a gun to my head.

"Don't try that with me. I know you're here for a reason. Do you wanna stay here or something? We don't have room, sorry."

"I was just trying to get away from the walkers. They were-they attacked me."

"Did you get bitten?" She lowered the rifle.

"No. I got away. When I got over the fences. I scratched myself a little, but it was only on the wire."

"Ok..." She put the gun on a table to her left. The room we were in was a kind of small bedroom. I didn't see it, but a bed was behind me. There was a small bathroom next to the table. It was like a small apartment. "But you're not getting untied."

"Seriously? My dad is out there. He's the only family I have left. Please let me go." I begged as she walked behind the huge wooden chair I was in.

"No. You're not getting untied." There was the sound of a dragging behind me. She came around me left with a smaller desk chair, and sat down directly across from me, facing me. "Well, you might as well start talking." She crossed her legs.

"About what? How you're ripping me away from the only thing I have left?" She looked down, then right back up.

"Look, what I'm doing is just trying to protect the people here. Even if you are telling the truth, I can't risk letting someone in that could destroy us. I'm not losing anyone here like I lost _my _family."

"Who are you?"

"Who are _you_?"

"I'm not telling you."

"Well I'm not telling you until you tell me."

"Yeah? Well I'm not telling _you _until-" She leaned forward.

"Before you say that, here's a little tip for you; don't start something that you can't finish."

"Is that a tip for our conversation, or am I getting a dating tip?" We were both getting angry with each other.

"You'd never be able to use it even if that was a dating tip."

"Oh! Ouch!" I said sarcastically. She scowled at me.

"Listen, I only want to what you're doing here and what you plan on doing. Just tell me before I get mad."

"You aren't mad yet?"

"Trust me, if I was mad, you'd know. Right now I'm only kinda annoyed."

"You can get more aggressive? Don't kill me, but that's kinda hot."

"It's about time someone said that..."

"Maybe I will need that dating tip after all."

"Do you really want to get beaten up by a girl, _again_? And by the way, I'm sorry about your head. When you get releas-" She smiled at her feet for a second "-_if_ you get released, you can clean that up in the bathroom."

"Wai-what? What's wrong with my head?" I couldn't reach up to cover it. She got up and picked up a small mirror from the table. Knowing I couldn't grab it, she adjusted it in front of me. There was a huge bump on my forehead with a cut parallel my hairline. The blood around it was already dry. "What did you do?" I yelled, staring at the mirror.

"Hey! All I could find was a shovel!" She said, putting the mirror back on the table.

"You could've killed me!" She walked behind me again.

"To be quite honest, I'm kind of wanting to so just shut up." She was clearly a little more annoyed than before. "Be glad I didn't."

"I'm sorry... It's just..."

"Yeah...I'd be the same way if I got whacked in the face with a shovel and woke up tied down."

"So are you just gonna keep me here?"

"For now. At least until I get a little more info outta you." She was doing something. I could here noises like a drawer opening and things being pushed around. I didn't know what she was doing.

"Can I know where I am?" I attempted, and failed, to turn my head.

"Kanaima."

"What? That's not a real place."

"Yes it is. It's a really small town just outside of Atlanta. Really small. Maybe less than half a mile." I certainly haven't heard of it. But I didn't really know why she would make up a lie like that.

"Anything else? Can at least know who you are?"

"Sierra. Now tell me yours."

"Carl, and you better not be lying to me."

"Or what?" She smirked, coming back in front of me. She opened to the door to the left of me on the wall next to the one I was staring at. The sun light hit my face.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"I've got stuff to do. Maybe I'll bring you back something to eat. If I feel like it." With that she closed the door. I was just left alone. And honestly, I didn't mind her.

**Chapter 4 is here! Sorry to be so late with the new chapter. I've been really busy lately. Please note! Kanaima does not really exist (I think?) It's just a name I heard on tv. Please if you like it, review and follow! I'm trying really hard! Thanks!**


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